I’m running a highly interactive workshop at VOOM HQ in Aldgate East and have two FREE places to give away to some Pioneers.

The session is based on research with over 500 entrepreneurs and will be all about helping business founders understand their unique role as the keeper of the vision for their company. It’ll be useful to you if you’d like answers to questions like these: What’s the role of a founder in realising a big idea? How can I maintain the startup passion as we grow? What’s the secret of successful co-founder collaboration? How can I hold the vision and also create autonomy for my team grows?

Here are the details you need to know:

Date: Thursday 1 December

Time: 9:45am – 4:30pm

Location: VOOM HQ, 38-40 Commercial Road, Aldgate East, London E1 1LN

Throughout the day I’ll be providing refreshments as well as a delicious lunch. Once the session is over we’ll be heading out for drinks afterwards.

To get your spot all you need to do is comment underneath this post before 12 noon on Friday 25 November.

Let me know what your big business idea is and what you’d like to learn to make this happen. I’ll then pick two people out of the comments to get tickets.

Now I imagine, you probably initially chose a career based on your exposure of having someone in your immediate surroundings doing it? I also imagine that you’ve purposely chosen to surround yourself with people who you believe are a reflection of who you are? Such as values, interests, education, and even style?

I use to be a recruiter for the creative industry – branding & advertising. And I can tell you that these biases also extend to the hiring process – hiring is personal. I’ve had ex-clients categorically state that they would like to see designers who had gone to the same institutions as them.

All Here is a digital platform & mentoring scheme for 13-19 year olds and creative industry professionals (at this moment in time specifically Creative Directors & Strategists) where we help create access to the ‘other’ for each-other. Where we create a space for reciprocal mentoring.

The mentoring scheme is supported by an e-training & coaching programme for these creative industry professionals to further develop, and help support them move away from quota driven diversity; where we help promote a more sustainable way of embracing inclusivity as we look to the enormous benefits that it brings.

All Here came about because we felt there was this real urgency to start looking at sustainable solutions regarding how we interpret and accept difference; history is cyclic and we’re now at a time where there is once again an increasingly growing division-esque mentality permeating our social-landscape. And we believe at All Here that branding and advertising have the power to challenge this.

All Here sets to transform the way we engage, which will create sincerer work because it’s been contributed by the individuals it’s created for.

All Here, all together, all connecting, and inspiring a more empathic world.

Nightire is a brand for the discerning individual. It's all about combining deliciously comfortable sleepwear that is thoughtfully designed and impeccably made, with a really strong brand ethose & style.

Take one look at the global sleepwear industry, and you will find few/no brands that actually evoke a strong sense of emotion from customers towards the brand. Buying sleepwear is usually a grudge purchase- people either buy new pyjamas as their current pair is worn out, or for a change in season. Nightire is the sleepwear brand that people will want to buy because we get them- we want to move away from the imagery that dominates the sleepwear market currently: white bed linen, demure models, sea cottages in the background or, on the flipside, the overtly sexy lingerie types.

Nightire was born with an urban mindset: it’s real, approachable & quirky yet also urban, trendy & aspirational. The range caters to young city-dwelling professionals who slog through long commutes & busy workdays. The brand’s approach was borne out of the insight that millennials are dealing with a lot these days- pressure to go to all the best events, travel as much as their friends, earn more than their friends and have bikini-bodies all year round. We will create a space for people to just pack away the pretences and be a bit more real/ human again. The tone of voice of Nightire will thus be exactly that- quirky, urban and relatable.

The range will be made of 100% bamboo, which is delightfully breathable & temperature regulating (let alone good for the environment) and will be sold online on the branded website to the UK, US and EU markets to start off with. A female range will make up the launch, with male and kids ranges hot on the tails.

Before deciding I'd enter I did a bit of research to see who you are and what your workshop is about.

I watched your Fusebox Session twice yesterday. Fascinating , we've all been told its abou the customer and product. But your right, why are we doing this. It is about us before product and customer.

I wake up on Mondays at 6am full of energy. I'm excited about my startup.

What's my big idea ? It's bike related.

After reading biz books and biographies, attending many meetups in London and having watched 100s of Youtube tutorials I'm all for an interactive workshops. I attended last weeks VM pioneers #GEW masterclasses and really enjoy interactivity.I've got the chance to learn from your research from over 500 entreprenuers. This would help steer me in the correct direction. After meeting the fab team from Virgin/Voom I realised I was going to miss them ! That's the beauty of your own startup, you cna fill it with awesome like minded people !

Right it almost 12 noon I'm off to graba bowl of Crunch Nut Cornflakes ;- )

I'm Olivia the founder of Kunaka Kitchen a game changer in the health food industry!

Kunaka was birthed when I was diagnosed with coeliac 2 years ago! At the time I was and still am a massive music festival enthusiastic. I realised no one catered for my intolerances, that’s when I had my eureka moment and birthed Kunaka Kitchen!

Kunaka Kitchen is here to cater for all coeliac food lovers. We make handmade gluten free wraps served with goat meat (a healthier alternative to red meat) and or halloumi cheese marinated in my homegrown Mozambique (Portuguese colony) Piri Piri sauce. We figured why stop there.... Everyone should be able to enjoy delicious flavoursome gluten free dishes! So we run super clubs every Thursday in Blackheath (SE London). We are not stopping there, we want to offer our gluten free meals to the NHS to cater to the maternity patients, as at the present moment there is a demand for tailored dietary meals.

I would love the opportunity to attend the workshop and learn how to keep my passion and Kunaka Kitchen growing in the right direction!